"8 Million Strong and Voting!" Small business is the heart beat of the United States economy. This blog searches for issues and answers to helping small business survive and thrive in California and the United States.

Friday, June 27, 2014

On July 1st, the minimum wage in California will go to $9/hr. It will increase to $10/hr in July of 2015. Senator Mark Leno has failed in the Assembly to pass his minimum wage bill. It would have increased the minimum wage to $11/hr in 2015, $12/hr in 2016 and $13/hr in 2017.About a week ago I asked you how you did business with your customers. I asked if you stressed meeting your clients in person or talking to them by phone vs. email and texting as your main communication vehicle. I was a bit surprised that most people responded they mostly use email. Most people said they did not text much.

Now, I know that there is a place for all these communication vehicles, but in my opinion personal contact is the best. Interestingly enough, no one mentioned Facebook or LinkedIn. I tell my employees to call first and if you don’t reach them, send an email because emails can be misunderstood as you don’t have a chance to add texture and nuance. I especially don’t want my employees to lose personal contact.

There are however exceptions to this where the client wants to be contacted only by email but I don’t think most people want to do business this way. It does seem that people in the tech industry seem to prefer email, though. Maybe I am too old fashioned...

Thursday, June 26, 2014

On Tuesday, Small Business California's AB 2096 (Muratsuchi) - Crowdfunding, passed the Senate Judiciary Committee! It will now go to Appropriations. Senator Mark Leno from San Francisco was the major reason this got out of the Committee over the objections of Committee Chair Jackson. Thank you Mark!In an effort to keep you up to date on the Affordable Care Act please see below. Thank you Hector for sending.Scott,

As we discussed, the national nonprofit Transamerica Center for Health Studies (TCHS) launched a new 50-state online guide to help small business owners with 50 or fewer employees understand their health plan options and costs through the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP).

The neutral, free guide includes the following information:

Each state’s SHOP Marketplace information

Tax credit information

Employer benefits survey

Employer wellness program incentives

Updated federal notice requirements

A recent survey by TCHS revealed six in 10 small businesses are aware of SHOP, but only 56 percent of them feel very informed about their company’s options for health insurance.

Monday, June 23, 2014

One of the things that is really important in my business is to build relationships with my customers. I will be the first to say I am of the age where this means talking to people face to face and by phone. I tell my employees that they should call people, our clients, and suppliers. If they cannot reach them, then to leave an email saying they left a message, asking them to call back or outline in the email what they wanted to talk about.

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Please see information below signature on Online Lending. As indicated this is going to be more prevalent in the future.

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On Wednesday Small Business California’s crowd funding bill AB 2096 (Muratsuchi - LA) passed the Senates Business Professional and Economic Committee 7 to 2. Small Business California Board member Mark Hiraide, Governmental Affairs Manager Lori Kammerer and myself, testified in support.It will now go to the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 24th. We have had great success with this bill due to Assemblyman Muratsuchi’s support and dedication, thank you Assemblyman! Also on June 24thSB 610 (Jackson – Fresno), which gives franchisees protection in negotiations with Franchisers, will go to the Assembly Business, Professions and Consumer Protections Committee. I will be testifying in support. Thanks to Senator Jackson for authoring this bill!Most of you have probably never heard of Lori Kammerer, our Governmental Affairs Manager. Small businesses around California are in her debt for the great work she does representing the interest of small businesses. All the legislators in Sacramento know her and she brings great energy to her position. We are able to have her because of the financial support of our members.If you are not a member please consider joining Small Business California. You can do so Online at www.smallbusinesscalifornia.org or we can invoice you. The cost is $150 if you are under $1 million in revenues and $300 over $1 million. If you are already a member, thank you!

Small business loans from online lenders have become an increasingly popular option for some businesses. Some say that they are quicker and more flexible to process than loans from brick and mortar lenders. Have you wondered if this financing option would work for your business?

If so, please join our webinar on Monday, June 23rd. GO-Biz has invited a panel of experts to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of online business lending options. The presentation will describe online loan amounts and loan terms, as well as the online loan application process. This very informative webinar will provide small business owners with an introduction to this new business loan arena. Register here now - space is limited!

Featured presenters:

SUSAN RILEY BROWN, Business and Community Development ConsultantSusan has 25 years of experience in the field of business and community development. Her background includes diverse areas such as credit analysis, online marketing, and real estate finance. Susan was previously Executive Director of two business-development nonprofits, and has served as a presenter, trainer, and facilitator at statewide, regional, and national forums. She has a Bachelor’s in Economic Development from U.C. Berkeley and a Master’s in Public Policy from Princeton University.

PAUL QUINTERO,Chief Executive Officer of Accion East, Inc.Paul joined Accion East in 2007, bringing 15 years of investment banking, public accounting and community development investment experience. Paul serves on the board of directors for the Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO) and Accion, The U.S. Network. Paul was a CPA for Deloitte & Touche and earned a BA in business administration and accounting from the University of Washington. He was a Robert F. Toigo Foundation fellow and earned an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Below, please find our support letter for SB 610. This is an important bill that will further level out the playing field for franchisees. For too long, franchisees have had little ability to negotiate on their contracts with Franchisers. This bill will help with that.

Dear Senator Jackson:

On behalf of Small Business California and its network of more than 5,000 employers who represent 3.2 million small businesses in this state, we are pleased to STRONGLY SUPPORT Your SB 610 that would impose restrictions on a franchisors’ ability to terminate a franchisee’s contract, provide the franchisees with a right to renew their franchise, protect the franchisees’ ability to sell their business to qualified buyers, and protect the franchisee from retaliation, if they join a franchisee association.

Senate Bill 610 will offer protections to small businesses who are franchisees to fast-food restaurants, retail stores, tax-preparation services, auto-repair shops and other businesses bearing major brand names. The franchisees often put their life savings at risk to start their businesses. Under current law, franchisors can put franchisees out of business for even the most minor violation of the Franchisor’s rule book – a rule book that can be modified to suit the franchisor at any time. For example, a franchisor can require the franchisee to purchase new equipment at any time during the contract period or terminate the contract if the small business franchisor is handing out too many coupons.

Senate Bill 610 is designed protect small-business owners by bringing some balance to the franchisor-franchisee relationship. Current California law allows franchisors to terminate franchise agreements for “good cause,” which includes a failure to comply with a requirement of the contract. But franchise contracts often specify dozens—or even hundreds— of requirements. Franchise agreements often allow the franchisor to inspect franchisees’ operations at any time and terminate the agreement for minor violations of the contract or of thousands of pages of manuals and other rules. And these are rules that the franchisor can often change unilaterally.

Senate Bill 610 gives franchisees’ rights to renew their franchise, if they comply with the franchisor’s standards. California law now allows franchisors to decide not to renew a franchisee’s contract for any reason or no reason at all. As with terminations, SB 610 would protect franchisees from nonrenewal, unless they commit substantial and material violations of their contract.

Senate Bill 610 protects franchisees’ ability to sell their business to qualified buyers. Franchisees should be able to sell it and reap the reward of their labor and investment. However, franchisors sometimes interfere in franchisees’ sale or transfer of the business, driving down the price or blocking the sale altogether. Franchisees need the right to be able to sell or pass on their business to qualified operators without interference. SB 610 would also protect franchisees from retaliation if they join a franchisee association.

Franchisee associations provide franchisees with a forum for discussing common problems and issues and with a collective voice for raising these issues with the franchisor. Some franchisees have reported that franchisors have retaliated against franchisees who join these associations. The bill would protect franchisees from retaliation for joining an association, thus ensuring that franchisees can continue to work together to improve conditions for their business.

For these reasons and more, Small Business California strongly SUPPORTS your Senate Bill 610. We greatly appreciate your leadership in this policy area and we look forward to working with you and your staff to ensure passage of this very important legislation. If you have any questions, please contact me directly at 415.680.2109 or email at shauge@smallbusinesscalifornia.org. Or, you may contact our Governmental Affairs Advocate in Sacramento, Lori Kammerer, Kammerer & Company, at 916.441.5674 or at LCK@midtown.net.

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Please see information about requirements for businesses in California. I want to thank The California Employers Association for sending this!

How to Prepare for the July 1st Posting RequirementsRead Time: Less than 2 Minutes

1. First and foremost, post the 2014 Employment Notices Poster with the $9.00-per-hour California minimum wage by July 1, 2014! You may purchase a new poster at the CEA Website OR you can download the posting now, for free, at: http://www.dir.ca.gov/iwc/MW-2014.pdf.

3. Finally, effective July 1, 2014, paid family leave to care for a seriously ill “family member” now includes a grandparent, grandchild, sibling or parent-in-law. Employers are required to provide this pamphlet to new hires and when employees take a leave of absence for a covered reason. Once available, you can download the Family Leave Pamphlet at: http://www.edd.ca.gov/Disability/PFL_Forms_and_Publications.htm.

Monday, June 02, 2014

Small Business California has been tracking AB 1792 and opposed AB 1351.AB 1792 would require all employers with 25 or more employees to report to EDD all employees receiving public assistance. Public assistance is defined as MediCal, Cal Fresh and Cal Works. As best as I can determine employees are all employees of a business and not subject to any hourly requirement. The bill would only apply to business not government. This is supported by Labor who says that these employees are a cost to the state. The Department of Labor would be required to provide a list of employees receiving benefits for each company. The Department of Finance opposes this.It has passed the Assembly by a vote of 52 to 26 and is going to the Senate.What do you think?

Small Business California opposed AB1351. This bill would require credit cards to have chips to prevent fraud. The problem with the bill is that it locks a technology in place which cant be changed without a vote of the legislature. It also does not apply to government. The bill has died in the Assembly as it could not get the votes before the deadline.

On June 17 Cameo will be holding a celebration of its 20th year . It will be at the Sterling Hotel. I am proud to say that at the event I will be given an award for Small Business Advocacy. This is particularly meaningful to me because I have worked the ED Claudia Viek for many years going back to her days at SF Renaissance.Scott HaugePresidentSmall Business California2311 Taraval StreetSan Francisco, CA 94116shauge@cal-insure.com415-680-2188

About Me

Small Business California is a proactive, non-partisan business advocate whose only agenda is the well being of California’s 3.2 million small businesses. Working for all small businesses for a better business environment, SB-Cal is responsive to the needs of small business owners.
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